Understanding mill markings on timber

[YorkshireMartin]

Hello.

I'm back with another question. :roll:

I was out buying some wood yesterday. I keep getting stumped by the chalk marks on timber. On ABW, I keep seeing what appears to be a yellow circle with a slash through it. I wondered if it had any meaning in terms of grading. I find ABW is very difficult to select in a rough sawn state.

I realise that each mill might use different markings, but I was hoping there would be a standard and perhaps a reference for it?

Could anyone offer some pointers with regard to the markings specifically?

Thanks.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Is this is silly question or does nobody know?

I'm starting to think they might be a bit like crop circles. :lol:

 

[ejtrent]

My ABW always has different markings on it, as far as I know it's not standardised and any yard chooses whatever they like to put on it!

 

[YorkshireMartin]

My ABW always has different markings on it, as far as I know it's not standardised and any yard chooses whatever they like to put on it!

Thanks ej. That might explain the lack of general response. )

I've had a few boards with FAS written on, which i did understand, so I thought the symbols might have been a shorthand expression of grading etc.

 

[Andy RV]

It might be worth having a dig through this site;

http://www.americanhardwood.org/hardwoo ... no_cache=1

 

[YorkshireMartin]

It might be worth having a dig through this site;

http://www.americanhardwood.org/hardwoo ... no_cache=1

Cheers Andy, that looks very useful.

 

[Alexam]

Although sawmills may differ, would it be worth speaking with a few suppliers and asking the direct question of them. If you do get good results, then please pass it on to us here.

Alex

 

[Zeddedhed]

I've only just read this thread and here's what I've found out over the years of dealing with a few merchants:

Apart from the known markings and abbreviations (FAS etc) it's almost always their own dialect of hieroglyphs.
Circles with slashes through them, oblique lines bisecting triangles, double wavy lines - it's normally their own code for highlighting defects in boards to make selection quicker.

I've asked the question of several yardmen and always got the same answer - "dunno where It comes from mate, but 'ere it means the boards got a split/cup/gash/chunk missing"

So based on that I look for boards with no markings for first selection, then a thorough visual inspection of the whole board.

 

[custard]

If you're working with waney edged ABW in the UK then there's a very, very strong chance that it came through just one log importer in France. Their name is on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite recall it, it's an English sounding word but they're definitely French. They pretty much have a lock on waney edged ABW imports into Europe, and after kilning and rough sawing they re-export the waney edged boards around Europe. Some of the bigger UK yards take full boules of waney edged ABW from them, and you'll frequently see their yellow scribbles and "Ax" and "Ab" grading codes. This French importer really has got their act sorted out and they bring in superb quality logs from the South Eastern states of the US where the very best quality ABW is to be found. One whacky result is that the FSC documentation will often show France as the country of origin of American Black Walnut!

If you want consecutive boards of ABW from the same log in order to make book matched solid tops then this is the stuff you need to track down.

Incidentally, I'm seeing quite a lot of bog standard PAR ABW at the moment with kilning errors which results in pale blotches appearing randomly throughout the board, I'm told this is a result of poor steaming and over hasty kilning. Look carefully and if you can trim off 10mm from the end grain and you'll see it as an irregular paler patch.

Once again, it's a strong argument for getting down to the timber yards and picking your boards personally. If you don't then you're pretty much stuck with the middle and lower quality grades no matter what price you pay, as makers like me will have picked over the stock and snaffled the best boards long before they get looked at for internet or telephone orders. If I were to ever take on an apprentice I'd dedicate a big chunk of their training to learning how to get their hands on the really good stuff!

 

[Wildman]

an excellent PDF on American Hardwoods in case you missed it.
http://www.americanhardwood.org/fileadm ... PECIES.pdf
The download never worked for me, however by opening online and then saving it worked fine.

 

[blackrodd]

I've asked the question of several yardmen and always got the same answer - "dunno where It comes from mate, but 'ere it means the boards got a split/cup/gash/chunk missing"

So based on that I look for boards with no markings for first selection, then a thorough visual inspection of the whole board.[/quote]

As zeddehed says above, In our wood yard we had thick blue wax crayon for marking timber defects, knots, pockets etc, how it was to be cut etc.
Splits and shakes, and flackey shakes, defects that went with the grain were marked with two parallel lines, 1 each side and for the entire defect length.
A stain or knot type defect would be circled and an arrow or tick to draw attention to the area.
Two parallel lines across the grain would denote a thunder shake between.
In the mahoganies and some Iroko, A hard thing to find in the sawn state as kiln drying process tended to hide the fault. A good whack, on the floor,in the manner of a wood axe and the end would fall right off!, sometimes 2 pieces.
Many times when facing and edging these woods, there would be a thunder shake, right across the grain, so this was marked for cross cutting out the fault (s) and re used as door cills, thresholds or whatever could be salvaged,
Then go back up the yard and replace the timber.
Possibly most wood yards have their own system, and I only know of ours.
Regards Rodders

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Thanks for all this information fellas. I don't know where to start with a reply.

The boards aren't waney edged and I'm buying in person. Aside from one very VERY large knot at the end of one board, which is waste anyway, I seem to have what I think is some decent wood. I can't take a photo at the moment as it's stacked up for acclimatising, but will do once I commence the build. I did end up with one other piece which had a horrible knot in it, but the mill only charged me for the length up to the knot...can't say fairer than that really can you?

I would have loved to get book matched tops, but I wouldn't have a clue where to find such a thing, so I'm stuck with doing my best with what I can get. It wont look as good as I wanted it to, but I only know of three suppliers around here and tend to favour the cheaper of the two. Ironically, their boards seem to be better, at least to my untrained eye.

I'll have to keep an eye out for these marks, as I didnt think they would be used to highlight defects, but that in itself is worth knowing and helpful.